SyFy "Face Off" with the 'Triple Threat'

"Face Off" is beginning to play hardball with its latest episode 'Triple Threat,' which aired Feb. 15 on SyFy. The cliffhanger teaser that aired last week had McKenzie Westmore enter the backstage studio where the contestants sat exhausted after the judging on 'A Dangerous Beauty.' Westmore announces to the contestants their job is not over. In 'Triple Threat,' it's revealed that another challenge awaits the exhausted contestants. A lineup of gorgeous supermodels are presented on the stage and the contestants are to tone down their beauty, making them plain or even ugly.

The contestants had to create a backstory to the characters they were creating with wardrobe, hair and makeup to match. The creations included a drug addict complete with prosthetic track marks, a librarian with a nose cold and ink stains on her fingers and an actress turned prostitute.

The winner: Rayce for his librarian. They liked the backstory of how the librarian had a red nose from having her nose in the books all the time and the ink stains on her fingers.

The next challenge takes place a day later. Westmore presents the contestants with several pairs of twins. Their task is to age one twin to age 75 and the other twin to 100. While the teams are busy sculping prosthetics, Westmore has an additional surprise - the twins are in fact triplets. The third triplet is to be aged to 50 years old. While RJ is applying the prosthetic to his model, she has an allergic skin reaction. RJ loses valuable time as they bring in another model. RJ discovers the model's face is much smaller than the previous one. He has to do a fast patchwork job cutting off the excess mask and gluing it to his model.

The creations:

Beki, RJ and Heather - They worked off the premise of an overweight black woman who loses weight and becomes emaciated over time. The judges were the most critical of this team. Glenn Hetrik criticized Beki's creation (the 50 year old) for the high edges and the mask-like plastic look of the face. Heather's 100-year-old woman was blasted for looking more like a zombie. RJ was given kudos with his 75-year-old for the solid makeup job and for his improvisation with the model replacement.

Sue, Tara and Matt - They decided on a aging gangster theme. In a complete reversal, Sue was praised for her details in the 100-year-old gangster with the wrinkles and wardrobe choice. Matt was criticized for placing a balding cap on his model's full head of hair, creating a cone-head effect. Matt's 50-year old was called a chia pet crossed with a werewolf. Tara's 75-year-old was mostly approved of, but the long hair wig was cited as distracting.

Jerry, Ian and Rayce - They went with the aging hippie look. In a suprising turnabout, Jerry was complimented not once but twice during the contest. The judges liked the coloring Jerry applied to his 100-year-old hippie chick. Meanwhile Ian was ranked at the bottom of the barrel for his 75-year-old for the different colors in the paintjob between the head and the neck. Rayce's 50-year-old wasn't sunburned enough and the makeup made his model look more diseased than old.

Winner: Sue for her wrinkled 100-year-old gangster turned Benjamin Button style.

Loser: Heather for her poor paint job and makeup application that made her 100-year-old black lady look more like a zombie.

My take: I was surprised at the swift turn about with Sue. From last week's bottom of the barrel to the top, Sue truly had a dizzying ascent. The fact Sue hasn't won any of the previous contests makes me think this is more a flash in the pan than a real trend for her. Beki's terrible plastic-like mask on the 50-year-old black woman was surprisingly awful for the talented sculptress. A part of me thinks Beki was punished this week by the judges for her lack of loyalty and blaming Sue for last week's botched spider creation.

The 'Triple Threat' episode was one of the least interesting episodes of  "Face Off." The creations weren't that imaginative as they were transforming beautiful young models into old geezers. The show also is getting dirty with driving the contestants to work exhausted after the judging for 'A Dangerous Beauty.'

Next week's episode, Alien Interpreters, will air at 9 p.m. CST Wednesday, Feb. 22 on SyFy.

SyFy "Face Off" with 'A Dangerous Beauty'

SyFy's Face Off's fifth episode, "A Dangerous Beauty," opens with Sue mourning Brea's recent departure last week while RJ tells Beki he feels his father is watching over him from heaven. The first Face Off challenge comes quickly with the contestants being led out to a nature preserve where their models are awaiting them. The challenge is to create makeup inflicted by a werewolf attack. Sam Huntington, who plays a werewolf on SyFy's Being Human, is the guest judge.

The winner: Beki for the depth of wounds and the ample use of gore.
The contestants are then led back to the studio where they are shown different animals and plants. The next challenge is to incorporate a dangerous animal with a beautiful plant for a creation both gorgeous but deadly. The whole scenario is a bit gimmicky with wolves and a leopard wrangler while a white rhino is revealed in the next room after a dramatic pause for commercial break.

Most of "A Dangerous Beauty" shows not one team steering blind, but several as they struggle with the limit of time and inconsistent direction. Beki's immunity proves a point of contention as Sue wants to add texture to their spider creation while Beki wants to go for a sleek costumed look. In perhaps the poorest decision-making and most unstunning creations yet in Face Off, the winner of "A Dangerous Beauty" wasn't chosen so much for outstanding design as the other creatures proved much worse.

Heather and Rayce - Water Monitor Lizard / Firestick creature. While the judges were impressed by the detailed lizard face and the rock star flaming firestick "hair," the toga pants were a flop.

RJ and Ian - Chameleon / Orchid lady slipper monster. While an odd choice, this was strongest creation in the group. The judges were impressed with the incorporation of both orchid and the lizard elements. The team also benefited from a strong presenation as the model opened his petals and revealed a deadly sharp-toothed lizard monster.

Beki and Sue - Spider / Bird of Paradise monster. The judges were shocked at how awful the creation turned out, which was further tainted by Beki blaming Sue for adding texture to the spider and "ruining" their creation. Even with Beki's added immunity, it seemed a cruel move to throw Sue to the lions. Beki may be one of the best, but you don't want her on your team.

Athena and Tara - Tree boa constrictor / Stargazer lily creature. The judges noticed the stenciled spray paint on the model. The lily and snake elements didn't blend well between the green scales and red flower parts. The underwear that showed through the paint was shockingly bad.

Jerry and Matt - Leopard / Yellow iris. Their final creation looked like a cat lady wearing a tan bikini. She also was sporting some funky cat head shoulder armor that looked like it belonged to another creation. The only vestige of the iris was in the form of a big green leaf plastered on the cat lady's back.

The winning team: RJ and Ian for melding plant and animal elements effectively and the cool effect of having a lizard revealed beneath the flower petals.

The winner: RJ for the concept and design of the plant animal.

The loser: Athena for her poor painting skills the judges felt hadn't been demonstrated in the last three challenges, which they felt were subpar.

My take: Beki and Sue's creation wasn't as bad as the judges deemed it to be despite the fuzzy spider texture and the bird of paradise leg appendages. Athena and Tara's model showing his underwear beneath the body paint was bad although the paint job wasn't horrid. I found Jerry's and Matt's cat lady the most lackluster of the group with just a big leaf attached to her back while she strutted in a bikini. Amazingly Jerry wasn't on the bottom of the challenge for once this week. Although the Jerry curse wasn't in effect (that anyone with Jerry gets voted off), Matt definitely has done better and could have done better without Jerry.

Next week's Face Off will feature old age makup and will air at 9 p.m. CST  Wednesday on SyFy.

For more reviews, check out Write-World.net .